2024, July 6: See a Dwarf Planet

July 6, 2024: Ceres is visible during the night near the handle of the Teapot of Sagittarius.  Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, and Mercury are visible during the nighttime hours.

Ceres taken by NASA's Dawn mission during its approach to the dwarf planet. (NASA Photo)
Photo Caption – Ceres taken by NASA’s Dawn mission during its approach to the dwarf planet. (NASA Photo)

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by Jeffrey L. Hunt

Chicago, Illinois: Sunrise, 5:23 a.m. CDT; Sunset, 8:28 p.m. CDT.  Check local sources for sunrise and sunset times. Times are calculated by the US Naval Observatory’s MICA computer program.

See a dwarf planet.
Chart Caption – 2024, July 6: As midnight approaches, Ceres appears near the handle of the Teapot, Sagittarius’ brighter stars.

Earth overtakes Ceres, passing between the asteroid, renamed a dwarf planet, and the sun, a geometric configuration known as opposition. Formally known as 1 Ceres, this body was the first one observed revolving around the sun between Mars and Jupiter.  These small bodies cataloged with an ordinal number that indicates their order of discovery.  For example, dwarf planet Pluto is cataloged as 134340 Pluto.

Ceres was thoroughly mapped by the Dawn spacecraft in 2015.  The rocky body is coated with ices.

Ceres through a Binocular

See a Dwarf Planet
Chart Caption – 2024, July 6: Through a binocular, Ceres appears near Ascella.

Ceres is visible through a binocular among the stars of the Teapot of Sagittarius, the modern informal name for the Archer’s brighter stars.  By three hours after sunset, about midnight for sky watchers at the western edges of time zones, Sagittarius is low in the south-southeast, high enough to locate Ceres.  The dwarf planet is near the star Ascella in the pot’s handle.

Place the handle in the binocular field.  Locate Nunki, Tau Sagittarii (τ Sgr on the chart), Ascella, and Phi Sagittarii (φ Sgr).  Faint Ceres is to Ascella’s upper left. The dwarf planet is considerably dimmer than the neighboring star.

Do Not Miss the Star Cluster

Globular clusters are inherently beautiful objects, but the subject of this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image, Messier 3, is commonly acknowledged to be one of the most beautiful of them all. (NASA/ESA Photo)
Photo Caption -Photo Caption – Globular clusters are inherently beautiful objects, but the subject of this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image, Messier 3, is commonly acknowledged to be one of the most beautiful of them all. (NASA/ESA Photo)

To make sure it is Ceres, look again with a binocular each clear evening. Ceres is farther westward as it appears to retrograde.  Tomorrow evening, it is to the upper left, but closer to the star.  On July 8, it is to the upper right.  By July 15th, it appears above the globular star cluster Messier 54 (M 54 on the chart), an added bonus to the field of view.

Globular clusters contain thousands of stellar members.  They revolve around the center of the galaxy, but outside its plane.  Their orbits, chemistries, and ages differ from those open or galactic clusters that inhabit the denser spiral arms of the Milky Way.

Through a binocular the globular clusters resemble oversized, fuzzy stars.  A telescope reveals individual stars and a seemingly densely packed center.

Here is today’s planet forecast:

Morning Sky

Jupiter, Mars

2024, July 6: Jupiter and Mars are in the eastern sky before sunrise.
Chart Caption – 2024, July 6: Jupiter and Mars are in the eastern sky before sunrise.

Leading up to their August 14th conjunction at an hour before sunrise, Mars begins to close the gap to Jupiter.  Mars, marching eastward in front of Aries, is over 25° above the eastern horizon.

Before the Jupiter-Mars conjunction, Mars passes the Pleiades star cluster, over 10° to Mars lower left, in two weeks.

Jupiter is nearly 15° up in the east and less than 20° to Mars’ lower left.  The Jovian Giant is slowly moving eastward in front of Taurus, 4.8° to the upper left of Aldebaran, the Bull’s brightest star.

Do not confuse Jupiter with Capella, the bright star nearly 25° up in the northeast.  Jupiter is brighter and to the star’s lower right.

Saturn

2024, July 6: During morning twilight, Saturn is in the south-southeast, above Deneb Kaitos and Fomalhaut.
Chart Caption – 2024, July 6: During morning twilight, Saturn is in the south-southeast, above Deneb Kaitos and Fomalhaut.

Saturn is less than halfway up in the south-southeast.  It is in front of a dim Aquarius starfield, but two stars in neighboring constellations, Deneb Kaitos, in Cetus, and Fomalhaut, in Piscis Austrinus, are lower in the sky.

Saturn is retrograding, appearing to move westward against the starfield.  Its opposition occurs September 7th.  Because it is farther away in the solar system, Saturn’s imaginary retrograde track in the sky is considerably smaller than Ceres and is within a single binocular field.

Evening Sky

Venus, Moon

The moon was at its New phase about 24 hours ago.  It sets over an hour after the sun and over 30 minutes after Venus.  Both are veiled in bright twilight.  Tomorrow evening, the crescent moon is above Mercury.

Mercury

2024, July 6: During bright evening twilight, Mercury is low in the west-northwest.
Chart Caption – 2024, July 6: During bright evening twilight, Mercury is low in the west-northwest.

As the inner-most planet climbs into the evening sky, its visibility is hindered by long summer evening twilight and our poor view of the solar system near the western horizon at this season.  At 30 minutes after nightfall, Mercury is over 8° above the west-northwest horizon.  Use a binocular to see the speedy planet appear as a bright star.

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